This invention relates to an improved cleaning system for removing residual material such as toner from an imaging surface of a reproducing machine. The invention is particularly applicable to an electrostatographic reproducing machine.
A variety of cleaning systems are known and used commercially for removing residual material such as particulate toner from the surface of a reusable imaging member. One such cleaning system which has found particular application commercially is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,789 to Ticknor. In the Ticknor patent, a resilient blade cleaning element is utilized to scrape toner off the surface of a photoconductive drum. The toner so removed is transported by a seal roll rearwardly toward a storage sump. A paddle wheel is utilized to push the toner into the fixed volume storage sump. The fixed volume sump limits the total number of copies which can be made with such an apparatus before maintenance is required to empty it. Therefore, it has been found desirable in accordance with the present invention to provide a sump remote from the cleaning system for storing the toner. By arranging the sump at a location remote from the cleaning system, larger sump volumes can be employed.
The use of sumps or toner collection bottles remotely located with respect to a cleaning system has found application with respect to brush cleaning systems. Note, for example, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,986 to Latone.
It is also known in the art to provide a clam shell like frame arrangement for supporting the various sub-systems of a reproducing machine. In these types of system some of the sub-systems in the machine are supported in one frame and other sub-systems of the machine are supported in a second frame. The two frames are associated such that one of the frames is arranged to move relative to the other. In the Xerox 3100 copier, for example, the upper frame supports the xerographic drum, the developer system, the optical system, and the cleaning system, and the lower frame supports the paper feeder and registration system, a vacuum transport, a fuser, and an output tray. When the upper frame is pivoted away from the lower frame, the machine is opened in the manner of a clam shell to allow access to the paper path for the purposes of maintenance, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,242 to Takahashi et al is illustrative of yet another approach utilizing a clam shell like frame arrangement. Various sub-systems of the machine are supported in one or the other frames forming the clam shell, and they can be separated to provide access to the internal parts of the machine.
A problem arise, however, when employing such a frame arrangement if the cleaning sub-system is supported in one frame, and the remote sump is supported in the other frame.
In accordance with this invention, a conduit is provided which is selectively connectable between the cleaning system and the sump. The conduit may be split apart when the frames are opened access to the inside of the machine. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a means is provided responsive to the opening of the frames for sealing off the conduit which extends from the cleaning system in order to prevent the escape of toner into the machine environment.
A variety of pipe of conduit couplings are known in the prior art. Some include automatic means for sealing off the conduits when they are disconnected and vice versa. For example, note the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 407,922 to Brown, Jr.; 584,144 to Gold; 599,603 to Froelich; 1,064,291 to Conrade; 1,096,278 to Sutton; 1,303,448 to Antonietti; 2,300,483 to Burger et al; 2,492,271 to Cox et al; 3,754,564 to Naumburg. It is also known to utilize valve arrangements in toner dispensers for development systems of xerographic reproducing machines. Note, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,472,657 to Mayer et al., and 3,698,926 to Furuichi.